Legislation aimed at increasing oversight of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) was introduced in the U.S. Senate, with support from both parties. The bill, known as the PBM Price Transparency and Accountability Act, is sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).
The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) expressed strong support for the proposed reforms. According to NCPA, the legislation would address practices by PBMs that they say contribute to higher drug prices for patients and the growth of pharmacy deserts.
The bill includes provisions similar to those considered last December but removed during spending negotiations. One reform would require independent pharmacies to receive transparent reimbursement under state Medicaid managed care programs. Another provision would direct the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to define and enforce what constitutes “reasonable and relevant” contract terms in Medicare Part D, including reimbursement standards.
“We would like to thank Chairman Crapo and Ranking Member Wyden for their hard work and steady support for these reforms. The president and Congress have expressed a strong interest in bringing down drug costs and these reforms are the most comprehensive and substantive way to make progress toward achieving that goal. NCPA urges Congress and the president to pass this legislation and sign it into law,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey. “The PBMs and insurance conglomerates are driving up drug costs, crushing small-business pharmacies, and creating pharmacy deserts. There is wide bipartisan support for these reforms, so there are no excuses for letting another year slip by without passing them.”
Other original cosponsors include Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) along with Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Mark Warner (D-Va.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
Founded in 1898, NCPA represents more than 18,900 community pharmacies across the United States employing over 235,000 people.
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